THE Rota Legislative Delegation held a session in the Senate chamber at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, but did not act on the bill to abolish the annual salary of the Rota casino gaming commissioners.
The author of Senate Local Bill 22-6, Sen. Paul A. Manglona, said there is no casino operating on Rota.
But Sen. Victor B. Hocog moved to table the measure because the delegation should first “get a clarification” as to the total amount of salaries that the Rota municipal council now owes the island’s casino gaming commissioners.
He said even though there is no casino revenue on Rota, the law states that the commissioners are entitled to their salary, which amounts to $60,000 a year.
This amount was set by the Rota casino law, which was ratified by the island’s voters through an initiative. He questioned the power of a local bill to amend an initiative ratified by the people.
Hocog and Sen. Teresita Santos said they should get a legal opinion from the Senate legal counsel, Joe Bermudes.
Pending the Senate legal counsel’s opinion, Sen. Manglona and Rep. Donald Manglona agreed to table S.L.B. 22-6, but “only until next session.”
Senator Manglona said he will continue to argue for the abolition of the Rota casino commissioners’ salaries so that the government can “stop the bleeding.”
The Rota casino commissioners are Viola Hocog-Atalig, Mateo Santos, Ken Atalig, Lucas Mendiola and Audrey Manglona.
Also on Thursday, the Rota delegation unanimously passed S.L.B. 22-4 to allot local poker fees and the $400,000 that Luta Mermaid LLC owes for inter-island medical referral patients, medical subsistence program and municipal scholarships.
Likewise passed was H.L.B. 22-23 to appropriate $1 million of Rota’s share of the Saipan casino exclusive license fee for the Rota municipal government’s various programs.
